In this inspiring talk, Mireille and Nicolas share their experiences working in one of Geneva’s most diverse neighbourhoods. They show that the tools of dialogue, listening and understanding are relevant everywhere. Mireille Widmer is an expert in security and development and Nicolas Witschard is a counsellor for community action at the City of Geneva.

Mireille Widmer and Nicolas Witschard

Mireille is a Security and Peacebuilding Expert; Nicolas is Cousellor for Community Action at the Cit of Geneva

Mireille was elected in April 2014 to the governing board of a Geneva “neighbourhood contract”, a joint commission between the city administration and residents, where she leads a working group on safety and security. An adviser on security and development issues, she was Senior Programme Manager at the Graduate Institute’s Inclusive Peace and Transition Initiative from 2014 to 2016. Prior to this she worked with the United Nations Development Programme in Haiti, the Central African Republic and Somaliland/Somalia, and with the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue on disarmament in peace processes.

Nicolas is a counsellor for community action at the City of Geneva. For the past 2 years he has been working on the Geneva neighbourhood contract, a joint commission between the city administration and residents. Nicolas is from the Paquis area of Geneva, one of its most multicultural areas. He has worked for several local NGOs in the field of cooperation and development. He completed his studies at the Haute école de travail social de Genève and the University of Geneva.

In this inspiring talk, Mireille and Nicolas share their experiences working in one of Geneva’s most diverse neighbourhoods. They show that the tools of dialogue, listening and understanding are relevant everywhere. Mireille Widmer is an expert in security and development and Nicolas Witschard is a counsellor for community action at the City of Geneva.

Pososhok perform 2 songs live at the Geneva Peace Talks and brings to audience to their feet. The first “Ungakohla” – a song dedicated to the leaders of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and the second “Welama”, a song about seeking a better future by looking to the wisdom of the past.

Helen Calle-Lin is an entrepreneur and passionate about creating public spaces for people to meet. In this talk, she describes how she got involved in revitalizing a public space in Geneva and how the small actions we can all take, matter.
Recorded at the United Nations Office at Geneva on 21 September 2016.
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